Everything to Play for – Leeds’ Role in the Raising the Nation Play Commission
As we celebrate National Playday, we’re proud to share how Leeds has helped shape a national conversation about the importance of play — through our involvement in the Raising the Nation Play Commission.
In Leeds we have attracted a national spotlight for our trailblazing work to make play everyone’s business and to prioritise children’s time, space and permissions to play in their homes, streets, green spaces and across local authority policy and practice.
Leeds has a bold ambition – to be the best city for children and young people to grow up in. Wish 2 of our Child Friendly Leeds 12 wishes states an ambition for all children and young people to have safe spaces to play, hang out and have fun.
A national conversation on play
Launched in 2024 and chaired by Paul Lindley OBE in partnership with Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, the Raising the Nation Play Commission brought together 20 expert commissioners to investigate the benefits of play, the barriers children face to playing, and what needs to change to restore play to the heart of childhood. The final report, Everything to Play For, was published on 11th June 2025, on the International Day of Play, with recommendations for government to implement a cross-departmental play strategy for England.
Follow the links below to read the full report:
“Nationally, the government needs to send a clear signal to local government, schools, and families that play is a crucial part of its agenda to improve school readiness, to raise the healthiest and happiest generation of children, and to break down the barriers to opportunity. It is also not just a case of showing that play is vital to policy aims, but that play is a foundation of our society and communities. It is a question of culture, and how we treat children and all of our futures.“
The report includes ten recommendations, covering topics such as:
- A cross-department strategy backed by an annual budget of £125 million.
- A Play Sufficiency Duty for England
- Legal protections for children’s rights
- A focus on the design of safe and playful neighbourhoods, including:
- [To support the previous recommendation] Ensuring that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires planners and developers to seek and act on the views of children and young people and consider their needs. Take a look what we’re doing to progress this in Leeds through the Leeds Local Plan consultation
- Supporting parents to be able to enable their children to play regularly and ensure children can play out safely more freely without parents having to fear of being seen as a ‘bad’ parent.
- Making play a foundation of children’s early years.
- Supporting schools to harness the power of play for learning.
- Reimagining and better regulating the digital lives of children.
- Embedding play in healthcare settings and recognising and using it as a tool to improve public health outcomes.
There are also recommendations on how to develop safe and playful neighbourhoods including:
- An ask for the Department for Transport to create a Safer Streets for Children strategy that prioritises children’s safety and independent mobility across national and local transport decision-making.
- A national ban on ‘No Ball Games’ signs and updating the model bylaws for Parks and Open Spaces to create more welcoming, healthier, and active environments that support children’s right to play.
- Clear legal framework – making it easier for parents and communities to organise safe play in their streets and simplifying implementation by councils to support consistent and fair rollout across England. Take a look at how you can do this in Leeds.
In Leeds we’ve been proud to contribute towards the work that’s going on nationally to protect children’s right to play. Cllr Helen Hayden (Leeds’ Play Champion and Executive Member for Children and Families) submitted oral evidence as part of the commission. In March 2025, we had the pleasure of hosting a visit to Leeds for Paul Lindley OBE and Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, who chair the Raising the Nation Play Commission, as well as one of the Commissioners Professor Mark Mon Williams.
This was a brilliant opportunity to showcase the fantastic work that goes on in Leeds to prioritise children’s time, space and permissions to play. Partners included:
- Playful Anywhere and NESTA who showcased the innovative project ‘Play Together, Talk Together’, designed by Play Explore Art
- Kidz Klub Leeds – delivering pop up and play sessions in Lincoln Green
- Leeds Beckett University – The ‘BA Playwork and Childhood Development’ course at Leeds Beckett is the longest standing in the UK, having taught undergraduate students for over 40 years. The Course Team are all active researchers and are currently looking at play and playwork with children in family visitors’ facilities in prisons; teenage cancer patients; adults living with advanced dementia, as well as evaluating the 50 Things to Do Before you’re Five mobile app; a project of Birth to 19, based in Bradford.
- Planning department, Leeds City Council – Leeds’ Statement of Community Involvement includes a target to see an annual increase in engagement with children and young people across Leeds. In 2024 the team engaged with 16 schools across Leeds to understand what the children of Leeds want development to look like, which will be used to inform the Local Plan.
- Leeds Children’s Hospitals – Leeds Children’s Hospital are now one of the 45% of hospitals that offer a 7-day play service.
- Leeds University – Starting in April 2023, CHORAL is a research programme led by the University of Leeds (UoL) in partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust (LTHT) and Leeds Hospitals Charity. A key theme of CHORAL is Improving Childhood Wellbeing which aims to build a whole system approach to coordinate health and education (and other public services) support for children.
- ARUP – showcased work in Lincoln Green to develop an active travel masterplan with local stakeholders and co-create urban play trails with communities.
Leeds is the city that plays. Our progress is thanks to a whole city championing the right to play. We’re excited to keep working together as a city, building momentum and leading the way to secure better opportunities for play, with the vision that we see more children playing, more of the time. We will be showcasing the work submitted by partners in the coming months. Look out for these on our website.
What has happened since the report?
Play England is a national organisation dedicated to promoting every child’s right to play. It works to influence policy, support communities, and ensure that all children have access to inclusive, high-quality play opportunities.
In 2025, Play England has taken two major steps to embed play more firmly in UK law and policy:
All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Play:
- A new APPG has been launched in Parliament to champion play as a fundamental right for all children.
- Chaired by Tom Hayes MP, the group brings together MPs, Peers, charities, and experts to influence national policy and protect play spaces.
- It builds on the legacy of the 2008 National Play Strategy and aligns with Play England’s 10-year strategy (2025–2035), It All Starts with Play!
- The APPG will hold regular meetings and share updates to ensure play is prioritised in planning, education, and community development.
- Read the full report here.
A Play Sufficiency Amendment in the House of Lords
- On 1 August 2025, Baroness Natalie Bennett reintroduced the Play Sufficiency Amendment during the Planning and Infrastructure Bill’s Committee Stage.
- The amendment would require local authorities to:
- Assess, secure, and protect play opportunities.
- Ensure no net loss of play spaces due to development.
- Provide inclusive, accessible, high-quality play provision.
- Consult with children, families, and communities.
- The government has shown openness to considering play in future planning reforms, marking a critical step forward for legal recognition of play.
- Read the full report here.
